September 23rd, Match #30 - Orange County SC @ San Antonio FC

September 23rd, Match #30 - Orange County SC @ San Antonio FC

Including this weekend’s game, there are only five games left. Orange County is in no danger of missing the playoffs. They do however need to keep picking up points if they are to guarantee a playoff game is played in Irvine. 


San Antonio is in a bit of a more extreme run of form to what OC is experiencing at the moment. For the entirety of the season, San Antonio and Sacramento have been the two top teams in the West. However, San Antonio are winless in their last 6 USL games. It has been a bit of a trend this month of September for a lot of championship contenders to drop a number of points. Orange County can now be included in this category with their winning streak and undefeated streak both snapped in their last two games. 


It is a scheduling quirk that OC and San Antonio will play for the first time this season this late into the season. This first matchup will be followed up with the home leg in Irvine only two weeks later. It will be a top 3 matchup this Saturday, something that OC have been very strong in. 


September 15th, Match #29 - Orange County SC vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

September 15th, Match #29 - Orange County SC vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

No, Orange County cannot clinch a playoff spot just yet. 


Orange County can however make the race to clinch the best record in the West much more interesting than it already is with a win on Friday. There really is a lot to unpack in this game preview so before discussing the upcoming game, we will first talk about possibly the biggest news of the season. Orange County’s all-time leading scorer Milan Iloski has agreed to a permanent transfer to Danish side FC Nordsjælland. It is a five year deal that will begin in January of 2024; which means that Milan will remain with Orange County for this regular season and subsequent postseason. It is a tough pill to swallow to see one of the best players in club history move on from Southern California but ultimately it should be a positive move as it is just another of the many profitable transfers of OC players to top-flight European clubs. 


September 9th, Match #28 - Orange County SC vs El Paso Locomotive FC

September 9th, Match #28 - Orange County SC vs El Paso Locomotive FC

There is a bit of a saying in sports where teams wish to get the opportunity to play meaningful home games late in the season. This is definitely a game that fits that criteria. As part of the surge up the standings that OC has found themselves comes the chance to beef up the numbers by playing teams who may be floundering and trying to find their footing before the final stretch. El Paso can also fit that criteria as a team. 

While we all know about the turn of form that Orange County were able to pull off, the Locomotive have found themselves on the other end of it. In their last 12 games, El Paso have won once. Now one might think that they could be drawing a lot of games but that is not the case either as they have drawn 3 of them. Between the last game they drew and their only win in that span,

which came two weeks ago, they had lost five consecutive games. This is a team that has completely fallen off the tracks but will be hungry to get points. 


August 26th, Match #26 - Orange County SC @ Sacramento Republic FC

August 26th, Match #26 - Orange County SC @ Sacramento Republic FC

Orange County SC with a win on Saturday can break a club record for most consecutive wins in the regular season. Orange County SC can further solidify a guaranteed home playoff game on Saturday. Orange County SC will face off against Sacramento Republic FC, the Western Conference leaders in points and longtime USL rival. 

The month of August has been the toughest stretch of the season by a wide margin with each opponent being in the top five of their respective conference (San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Charleston). The last opponent OC will face in August, Sacramento, will continue this trend as they are first in the Western Conference at 48 points. OC will enter the contest tied for third in the West with 40 points. 

Orange County SC will have to go for 3 points without their leading scorer Milan Iloski. Iloski picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Charleston which resulted in a one game suspension. The forward depth, which has been good for OC this season, will have a big task at hand. 

August 16th, Match #24 - Orange County SC vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

August 16th, Match #24 - Orange County SC vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Orange County SC are about to embark on their toughest three-game stretch of the entire season. This will see them play not only the top two teams in the Eastern Conference but also sees a trip to Sacramento to face the first place Republic one week from Saturday. With just how tight the playoff picture is for the Western Conference, there is not much room to falter. This comes even as OC have arguably been the best team in the league for the last month or so. The Black and Orange have done enough to make up for their poor start to the season and are facing the best teams at the right time. 

The first of three feats of strength is that of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The current USL league leaders, the Riverhounds are on a modest three-game win streak. They will however make the cross-country trip on a short weekend to Orange County, a place they have not been to since the 2013 season. 

As for OC, who are themselves undefeated in their last four, they are coming back from a much deserved one week break. It will be 10 days since Orange County last played a match which was the 3-1 victory down in San Diego.

August 5th, Match #23 - Orange County SC @ San Diego Loyal SC

August 5th, Match #23 - Orange County SC @ San Diego Loyal SC

A rivalry, or derby in soccer, is best described as an intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. It is very safe to say that there is no love lost whenever Orange County plays San Diego. 


This will be the twelfth meeting all time between the two clubs dating back to the 2020 season and is a rivalry that has really seen everything: wins on the road, last-minute goals, sending offs, fisticuffs, the works. Both teams for the most part have remained competitive in many of their matchups and this meeting does not change. As it currently stands, San Diego are fourth in the Western Conference with 33 points while Orange County sit two points behind them in 6th. 


Both teams have had good months of June and both are going into Saturday’s game on three game win streaks. Likewise both teams are currently in the playoff mix. 


July 22, Match #21 - Orange County SC @ Memphis 901 FC

July 22, Match #21 - Orange County SC @ Memphis 901 FC

Orange County’s Summer away from home will continue once again as they are going to play their third straight away game and seventh of their last nine games. This three game stretch took them down to Texas and to the East Coast so it only makes sense that their final stop takes them to the South of the United States where they will make their first ever visit to Memphis. 


In the city of Memphis is that of Memphis 901 FC a team that currently sits 4th in the Eastern Conference standings but have had a rollercoaster of a season. Memphis, like most of the Eastern Conference, do not have statistics that they can boast about (only a +4 goal differential). However they are still one of the better teams in the USL this year with a top-five offense. 


For Orange County, the win on Saturday in Virginia bumped them up to a tie for eighth in the West with Phoenix and New Mexico. Saturday the 22nd is shaping up to be a massive day for all of the playoff bubble teams like Orange County with both Phoenix and New Mexico facing fellow playoff-bound teams. But for the moment, Orange County’s focus must be on Memphis. 


July 15th, Match #20 - Orange County SC @ Loudoun United FC

July 15th, Match #20 - Orange County SC @ Loudoun United FC

After getting shutout in their last game against Rio Grande Valley, Orange County are now on the outside looking in. While last week’s game could have gone better the boys in Orange must shift their focus on another road game. This time their adventures in USL scheduling takes them to the state of Virginia to face off against Loudoun United FC.


Both teams in this matchup have to start picking up their form and play better in the second half of the season to qualify for the postseason. As it currently is, Orange County is 11th in the Western Conference and three points back of both Phoenix and New Mexico for the final two playoff spots. Loudoun on the other hand are 9th in the Eastern Conference and one point Indy for the eighth seed. Orange County actually has the better record overall but the Eastern Conference is a much weaker conference. 


July 1st, Match #18 - Orange County SC vs Monterey Bay FC

July 1st, Match #18 - Orange County SC vs Monterey Bay FC

OC Aim To Keep Momentum in Milestone Matchup

This week's matchup on Saturday, July 1st will mark the tenth home game played for Orange County SC during their 2023 season. The 2023 season also happens to be the tenth season for OCSC in the city of Irvine. While it is not the tenth anniversary of the club overall, it does serve as a celebration of the oldest Western Conference club in the USL. 

Likewise Saturday, regardless of current standings, is another reminder of the partnership between OCSC and the city that it has called home for 10 years. While it has not been the smoothest stay in Irvine, it is still nevertheless where our club has played its game and ultimately where we all gather to support them. 

On top of all this pageantry, OC will also be playing a crucial game against a fellow California side in that of Monterey Bay FC. A side that Orange County have yet to even score a goal against. 

June 24th, Match #17 - Orange County SC @ Detroit City FC

June 24th, Match #17 - Orange County SC @ Detroit City FC

Last week’s win against Tulsa was the most convincing win of the season and one that really should have been much more than 3. Everything that could have gone well did for OC. Milan scored his sixth goal of the season, Amang finally broke through with his first, Shutler generated another clean sheet, and Nakkim came up with a goal of the week nominee. 

This win however was much more important for club mentality as it was not only the first away win in around a year but also the first win in a baseball field turned soccer field. 


However OC cannot take their foot off the gas to end this long road trip as they make their final stop to one of the most intimidating venues in all of the USL. That being Keyworth Stadium, home of Detroit City FC.


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